


The Face of Grief

by akechigcro



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 21:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10999368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akechigcro/pseuds/akechigcro
Summary: Big spoilers for Shido's palaceYusuke knows grieving is never easy, and that it should never be gone through alone.





	The Face of Grief

Yusuke knows the face of grief.

He’s dealt with enough in his lifetime - more than enough - to know the signs, especially when they’re coming from a quiet person, one who has learned to internalize their feelings rather than deal with them in the presence of others.

Yusuke knows the face of grief, and right now it is Akira’s.

It’s been days since reaching Shido’s treasure, and none of the Thieves have seen Akira. He only texts back short sentences, which isn’t unusual, but recently they seem poignantly quick. The others have mentioned stealing the treasure; they are always met with a, “We need to be careful,” or “Let’s not be hasty.”

Yusuke believes in Akira, he knows not to rush their leader. That doesn’t mean he isn’t terrifyingly, overwhelmingly worried.

One day, he can’t take it anymore.

He sends a quick text to Akira - “I’m coming over.” - before he turns his phone off to ignore any dismissal or refusal.

Anxiety creeps into his stomach as he gets on the train.

———

 

Sojiro greets him pleasantly and offers a cup of coffee when he walks into Leblanc. Any other day he would accept, but now he is on a mission. 

“No thank you. I am here to see Akira,” he says while adjusting the bag on his shoulder, feeling stiff and awkward now more than ever.

Boss nods. “He’s up in his room. Been sorta quiet the past few days. You may as well go up now.”

Yusuke gives his thanks and climbs the stairs. He sees Akira's mess of hair just above the blankets on his bed, and Morgana pacing the floor below. The cat's head snaps up.

"Good, you're here. Talk to him, will you?" he says. Then, more quietly, "He needs you right now."

His mouth feels dry, so he just nods and takes a seat on the bed as Morgana goes downstairs. Gently, he shakes Akira's shoulder. "Akira. Akira, wake up."

"M'awake," he mumbles.

"Akira, sit face to face with me. Please."

"Fine." Akira's legs swing over and he sits up, looking like a burrito in his blanket.. His eyes are ringed red, like he's been crying.

Yusuke has to hold in his own emotion at seeing someone he loves so upset.

"I... wanted to check in on you. I know it was... rough, in Shido's palace. What can I do?"

Akira sighs. "Nothing."

That makes Yusuke frown. "Surely I -"

"Yusuke, I appreciate it, but nothing is going to make me stop hurting."

By now, he is frantic. "Please, Akira. Do not misunderstand. I know this will not simply go away but know that I am here to ease your burden. I... I love you, and I want to be here for you. Even if what I do to help is as simple as lending an ear. Don't take this all on your own. You refused to let me alone while I was suffering, and it would be unjust of me to allow you to fight by yourself."

Surprisingly, Akira chuckles. "Unjust. Of course."

"I'm sorry, I -"

"Don't be." Akira brings his hand to his forehead and wipes it down his face. "No matter what you say, it still hurts."

"I know."

"He's dead. Akechi - Akechi is dead." Yusuke chooses to ignore Akira's hiccup when he says Akechi's name. "And it's my fault.”

“This isn’t a result of your actions, this is -”

“Shido. I know. But it’s me too. I let him die. I could have tried something… I could have found a way around the seal. I could have gotten to him. But I froze. And now Goro Akechi is d-dead and it’s my fault.”

“Akira…” Yusuke placed his hand on the other boy’s thigh, “there was nothing we could have done. Everything happened too quickly.”

Akira starting crying in earnest now. “We could have changed his heart when he’d shown up on the rankings.”

Yusuke’s heart was breaking for him. He pulled Akira into a hug. “Persona users can’t have palaces. We… we did what we could for him. He redeemed himself, Akira. That’s what we did for him. It ended in a less than reassuring way but… we did the best we could. You did the best you could.”

Akira wrapped his arms around Yusuke’s torso and cried into his shoulder for a while. Yusuke knew that Akira needed this, so he just allowed him to let it out. 

After some time, Akira pulled back, wiping at his eyes. “I liked him, you know. I know he was a bad person, I know all the horrible things he did, but I still liked him. He _was_ special. He _was_ important. I wanted him around! Why did he think that was pity? I wanted to be his friend… I thought we were friends…”

Yusuke held his hand. “I’m so sorry, Akira. I know… he was special to you.”

Akira shook his head. “Not… not like you are. I’m sorry for not coming to you. I’m just so used to… keeping everything inside. And with how Ryuji was acting, I was afraid you’d rebuke me too.”

“Never, Akira.”

“I have to keep my promise. We have to change Shido’s heart. For Goro. For all of Shido’s victims.”

“We will. You only have to say the word when you’re ready. Everyone is behind you and every one of us will do our best. Not just for the victims and Akechi, but for you as well.”

Akira started tearing up again. “Thank you. All of you.” He squeezed Yusuke’s hand. “Could you… could you stay here tonight? I don’t feel like being alone. Sojiro won’t mind either.”

“Of course. I’m here for you, Akira,” he said, resting his forehead on the other boy’s.

Akira leaned in for the kiss, and for a moment, it felt like everything would turn out alright.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this late at night because I couldn't sleep after reaching the treasure and, well... it's mostly a catharsis for me in all honesty. I really liked Akechi despite figuring out he was the bad guy early on. I wish things could be different ;~;
> 
> This fic is dedicated to Gwilly because she's an angel and listens to me yell about Persona and also she's just like, the best friend ever<3
> 
> I'm on tumblr and twitter so come say hi if you don't mind nonstop persona posts!


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